James leads Heat in rout of OKC

OKLAHOMA CITY — LeBron James sat silently in front of his locker with a towel draped over his head, not wanting to reveal the effects of a hit to his nose that prematurely ended his night.

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By The Associated Press

MailTribune.com

By The Associated Press

Posted Feb. 21, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 21, 2014 at 2:45 AM

By The Associated Press

Posted Feb. 21, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 21, 2014 at 2:45 AM

» Social News

OKLAHOMA CITY — LeBron James sat silently in front of his locker with a towel draped over his head, not wanting to reveal the effects of a hit to his nose that prematurely ended his night.

His Miami Heat teammates finished off a 103-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder without him on Thursday night.

Miami's star forward went down with 5:50 remaining after he was struck by Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka on a drive to the basket. James finished the dunk, but he was bloodied and he left the court with a towel over his face.

"I'm like everybody else, you're used to seeing him like Superman, get up and sprint back even after tough hits and tough falls," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "So we knew something was up."

James landed the hardest blow long before that. He scored 16 of his 33 points in the first quarter to put the Thunder in a bind, and the Heat rolled to a lopsided win.

James passed a concussion test, but some damage was done.

"He has a swollen nose right now. It's bleeding," Spoelstra said. "We'll evaluate him when we get back to Miami, but it's sore."

The Thunder were the ones shaken up after James made his first five shots and scored 12 points in the first 4:11.

"It was flawless," Wade said. "He was aggressive defensively, he was able to play passing lanes and be who he is. That was a great start on the road by our leader. It was something that we needed."

Wade had 24 points and 10 assists, and Chris Bosh added 24 points for Miami, which won its fourth straight and avenged an earlier loss to Oklahoma City. It was a good step for the Heat, who are trying to catch Indiana for the top record in the Eastern Conference.

"You can see the resolve," Wade said. "You can see the chemistry. You can see a team that's gearing up for the second half of the season."

Kevin Durant scored 28 points for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for the first time since Jan. 5.

Durant has been the popular favorite to win the NBA MVP award, but Wade said James is still in the hunt.

"It's not decided," Wade said. "I don't think that was a message. That was LeBron James being LeBron James. He loves the matchup, just like KD loves the matchup. The MVP is long, long from over."

Russell Westbrook, who had missed the previous 27 games after having surgery on his right knee, started and scored 16 points in 24 minutes. He made 4 of 12 shots.

Wilson Chandler scored 15 while J.J. Hickson added 14 points and 10 rebounds in a matchup of two teams left short-handed by deals they made before Thursday afternoon's trade deadline.

Warriors 102, Rockets 99, OT

At Oakland, Calif., Stephen Curry made a tying layup with 3.2 seconds left in regulation and finished with 25 points, and the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Rockets 102-99 in overtime to halt Houston's eight-game winning streak.

Just after James Harden hit a go-ahead jumper, Curry came back with a left-handed layup over Dwight Howard to send the game to the extra session.